


unleash the lion (literally)

by simplyverstappen



Series: magic verse [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Curses, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, am I naming the cats in my fics after the jungle book because I am lazy? yes, fight me, honestly there is no angst, lion cub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23462548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyverstappen/pseuds/simplyverstappen
Summary: “My god, Max would love you”, he mumbles and before he realises it the little lion scratches him. “You little shit!” Dan stares at him incredulously, the cub glaring back at him with those familiar blue eyes and Dan narrows his eyes. “Max?"or alternatively, Max got himself cursed and Dan has to find a way to help him
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Series: magic verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706989
Comments: 50
Kudos: 204





	unleash the lion (literally)

**Author's Note:**

> so this is basically what happens when Max is not commenting his stream + me listening to High School Musical + me finding [this cute lion cub video](https://verstappened.tumblr.com/post/614321458883248128/gatherthewords-hes-gonna-be-a-mighty-king-and) on tumblr and Kai and I bouncing plot ideas back and forth for it lmao
> 
> Enjoy and cheers to Max for giving me a calming background noise with his streams sksksk 
> 
> (this is pure crack and fluff lmao I don't even know) 💛

Dan frowns when he hears a suspicious scratch from outside, something bumping against his door repeatedly and he slowly gets up. 

He’s alone in his flat, the season being on their annual summer break and Max and he had actually wanted to go for drinks tonight somewhere at the harbour. Nothing too unusual and he waits for another second but when there’s another bump he slowly opens his door. 

He freezes, thinking for a second he’s just imagining this but when he looks down again the lion cub is still there, walking on shaky legs past him in his flat like he owns it and Dan is too dumbfounded to actually stop him. Or her. Or- 

What the fuck?! 

He slowly closes his door again, watching how the baby lion slowly waddles into his living room and he actually considers calling the police - that is until the cub turns around and tries to roar. 

Tries because there’s not much more than a croaking “Ahh!” coming from his throat which sounds absolutely adorable and Dan’s heart melts. 

“Hi”, he says, a grin forming on his face and he follows the cub in the living room. “You’re okay, mate?” 

The lion is looking at him, trying again to roar when Dan comes closer and he can’t stop laughing. 

“Darling, you’re really not intimidating.” Before he can think about it he picks the cub up and sits down with him on the sofa, pulling the tiny lion on his lap. 

The cub tries glaring at him but- it’s a lion. A very tiny lion and Dan takes his time to actually look at him, hand trailing over the soft, sand-coloured, fur. 

The lion has blue eyes with flecks of green in them that look faintly familiar and Dan frowns, absentmindedly scratching the cub's ears. “You’re really cute, do you know that?” 

The lion cub just huffs in annoyance, nibbling on his finger and Dan laughs, watching the tiny lion absolutely fascinated. 

“Care to tell me where you came from?”, he asks amused, still petting the cub who gives him another glare. 

It’s not the first strange thing that happened to Dan - not when you live in a world where magic exists and you’re a Formula 1 driver. Magic might be banned on track but that doesn’t stop any of them, really - it’s just about hiding it properly. 

But a lion cub in his hallway? That’s new and he plays with the tiny ears, the lion cub actually starting to purr and Dan’s heart is melting. 

“My god, Max would love you”, he mumbles and before he realises it the little lion scratched him. 

“You little shit!” Dan stares at him incredulously, the cub glaring back at him with those familiar blue eyes and Dan narrows his eyes.

“Max?”, he asks slowly, the lion nibbling on his finger. He’s not convinced yet tho and he picks the lion up, giving him a stern look. “We’re gonna check in Max’s apartment and if he’s not there-“ 

The lion baby tries to roar again and Dan can’t stop the grin that’s forming on his face. “Yeah, yeah, very intimidating. I’m taking you with me, I don’t trust you alone but we have to keep our head down, okay?” 

He throws a jacket on, hiding the cub in it, making sure he can breath before quickly leaving his apartment and walking over the hallway to Max’s. He knows he should be home, they talked just a few hours ago on the phone but when he knocks, there’s nothing. 

“Max?!”, he calls, knocking again and the lion in his jacket wiggles, trying to free himself. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, stop moving”, Dan mumbles, absentmindedly patting the cub through the jacket while staring at Max’s door. 

Max isn’t home. There is a lion cub in his jacket. He should really ask Max for a key for his apartment. 

He raises his eyebrows before turning on his heels, disappearing in his flat again before some curious neighbours see them and as soon as the door is closed, the cub wiggles fully out of his jacket and jumps to the ground. 

Dan’s heart stops for a second but the lion cub lands - well not gracefully - but he somehow manages to land on all four paws, trying to roar again and Dan grins before picking him up again, going back to the sofa. 

“Maxy?”, he tries again and the lion bumps his head against his hand, biting his finger - not that it hurts, his teeth are more like tiny needles and Dan sighs deeply. 

“Which wizard did you piss off this time, Max?”, he asks and lion Max growls - or at least tries, it sounds way too adorable and Dan grins. “Told you something like that would happen at one point. Okay, let’s play a guessing game: the wrong name is a head butt and the right a lick?” 

Max grumbles something in agreement and he bumps his head against Dan’s hand when he says “Christian Horner.” 

“Marko?” Another head butt, a little bit more aggressive and Dan chuckles. “True, he’s too incompetent for so much magic. Lewis?” 

Max just stares at him and Dan sighs. “You’re right he’s too nice.” He mentally goes through all the people on the grid Max could’ve pissed off but- well, that could basically be everyone. 

“You’re not easy to be around sometimes, mate, do you know that?”, he says amused, Max just swatting his paw at him and Dan sighs. “Yeah yeah. Was it Kimi? I wouldn’t blame him after what happened in Hungary.” 

Max looks actually hurt at that, curling into a small ball, turning away from him and Dan’s heart breaks at the sight. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry I know it wasn’t your fault you both crashed. I’m sorry, okay?” 

He fondles his ears and Max starts purring again, a content sigh escaping him. 

“This doesn’t help us at all, though.” Dan stares at the clock on his wall, it’s 5 in the afternoon and he leans his head back, the lion cub a comfortable warmth on his lap. “Spa is one week away, mate, we need to find a way to lift the curse.” 

Max growls in agreement and Dan smirks. “Not gonna lie tho, kinda wanna let you grow and unleash you on your father. Make ‘Unleash the Lion’ a reality.” 

Max stares at him before he licks over Dan’s hand once and he knows Max would’ve laughed at that if he could. 

“Well, if you can even outgrow the curse, I’m not good with them.” Dan sighs, trying to think of a spell that could help Max. It’s just- curses are complicated, if he fucks up he could make it worse and as adorable as Max is as a lion cub- he kinda wants his boyfriend back. 

“A wizard who’s powerful enough to pull off a curse like this...”, Dan mumbles and then it hits him. “Charles?!” 

Max growls lowly but licks his finger and Dan can’t stop laughing, Max nearly sliding off his lap from all the laughter. 

“Oh my _god_ , Maxy, why?!” He stares at his boyfriend - his lion - whatever - tears in his eyes from laughter and Max gives him a deadly glare before he keeps nibbling on his finger again. 

“You two really have to stop messing with curses.” Dan sighs, shaking his head amused before fishing his phone from his pocket. “I’m gonna call him, yeah? I’m sure he can fix this.” 

Max doesn’t look too happy about the prospect of calling Charles but Dan doesn’t really care, just relieved it’s not Helmut Marko - that would’ve been nasty and he _really_ doesn’t want to threaten him again. 

“How did he even get you, I thought you always watch your back around him?”, Dan asks absentmindedly while searching for Charles’s contact, Max just giving him a sad huff. 

“Yeah, I would be ashamed too, mate. _Charles_ , from all people.” Dan grins when Max bites his finger again before he calls Charles, putting him on speaker so Max can hear as well. 

“ _Oui_?” 

“Mate what have you done to my boyfriend?”, Dan comes straight to the point and he can hear Charles laugh at the other end of the line, Max growling quietly. 

“So he found you?” 

“You’re so dead when he finds _you_.” Dan shakes his head amused, scratching Max’s head while Charles just keeps laughing. “He deserved it he was fucking rude to me.” 

“And you’re never rude to him, of course”, Dan deadpans, protectively cradling his little lion a bit closer and Max presses himself against his hoodie. Charles actually stops laughing at that and Dan sighs. 

“Look mate, just lift the curse okay? You can’t just constantly jinx each other, Spa is in a week-“ 

“He started it!”, Charles interrupts him and Dan closes his eyes, absolutely done with this. “I don’t _care_ who started what. As cute as Max is as a lion, we have the race in a week and I really don’t want to tell Seb and the others about this.” 

“Fine”, Charles grumbles and Dan exhales, Max licking his hand again, softly purring. “So?” 

“The curse will wear off tomorrow morning, I can’t do shit before that”, Charles explains and Dan groans, Max not looking happy either - well, as unhappy as a lion cub can look. He still looks mostly adorable. And a little bit like grumpy cat. 

“So you wanna tell me I’m stuck with a fucking lion cub until tomorrow?” 

“...yeah?” 

“You’re unbelievable, Leclerc.” Dan shakes his head exasperatedly and he can hear him laugh again. “And yet you love me.” 

Max tries again to roar, clearly pissed off at Charles’s statement, swatting at the phone and Charles laughs again. “Oh my god, is that him??” 

“Yep.” Dan lifts his phone a little higher, a grin on his face and Charles snorts. “He sounds adorable.” 

“Oh he is, I’m gonna send you a picture later.” Dan winks at Max who looks back totally unimpressed and he leans back. “Don’t fiddle around with any more curses, understood?” 

“Fine.” 

“Peachy.”Dan hangs up, Max and he stare at each other for a moment and Dan grins. “So no drinks tonight, eh?” 

Max snorts, curling into a small ball again and Dan raises his eyebrows. “You’re sleeping here now? You for real?” 

Max pushes his tiny claws into his jeans as confirmation that he plans on staying and Dan sighs. “Later, baby. Are you hungry, do you want something? Milk?” 

Max turns around again, staring at him in disbelief and Dan raises his hands defensively. “I forgot, you’re not Lando. I just thought because you're a baby. Eh- what do lion cubs even eat? Cat food?” 

Max looks actually offended at that and Dan decides to ask the internet. A quick google search later he has his answer: raw meat. 

“Lucky for you I still have some”, he muses, gently putting Max on the floor before heading for his kitchen, switching on his stove with a flick of his wrist, too lazy to bother doing it without magic. 

He gets the meat from the fridge but nearly drops it when he hears a hiss and something soft bumping against his legs and nearly making him stumble. “Jesus Christ, Maxy-“ He stops when he sees what startled Max and he can’t help but laugh. 

“Are you really scared of Bagheera?”, he asks amused, his black cat standing in the doorway, staring in confusion at the lion cub which is hiding behind Dan’s legs. Max doesn’t react, just staring at the cat (which is, funnily enough, bigger than him) and when Bagheera starts moving, clearly unbothered, he claws his paws into Dan’s leg, trying to climb up. 

“No, Maxy, you can’t- oh for god’s sake”, Dan mumbles, picking Max up and putting him on the kitchen island. 

“Are your paws clean?”, he asks him in a stern voice and Max stares at him in disbelief. 

“You’re adorable.” Dan shakes his head, grinning before taking a quick picture of Max with his phone and when Max tries to roar again, clearly not amused, Dan laughs. 

“Awww, is the big mighty lion scared of my little house cat? You could play with each other!” Max looks actually horrified at that thought and before Dan can see it coming, Max jumps into his arms, clinging on to him. 

“You’re pretty needy, do you know that?”, Dan tells him while he starts making himself some pasta, trying to balance Max on his shoulder. “And it’s ridiculous that you’re scared of Bagheera.” 

Max only pushes his claws deeper in Dan’s shoulder blade, clearly determined not to let go and Dan sighs before he starts cutting the raw meat in tiny pieces so Max can eat it. 

“I still love you, though.” That gets him a head butt from Max and Dan rolls his eyes, a fond smile on his face. “Yeah, yeah.” 

They eat dinner on the sofa, Max on Dan’s lap while Dan holds his bowl with pasta and he plays some FIFA after that, Max contentedly curled up on his lap, watching him. 

He tries interfering from time to time, a paw coming up on the controller when Dan misses a 100% chance on the goal again and he groans, leaning his head back. 

“Yes, Maxy, I know I’m the worst at FIFA, thank you very much for reminding me.” Max just starts purring and Dan can’t help the soft smile that’s spreading over his face. “You really are cute if you want to, do you know that? I really _am_ tempted to just leave you like this-“ 

The second the words left his mouth he has a claw in his thigh and Dan grins, gently freeing himself. “I won’t, okay? You want to play something as well? I’m sure I still have a laser pointer somewhere-“ 

Max bites his finger for that but it’s not more than a pinch and Dan laughs. “Come on you big scary lion, let’s go to bed.” 

He lifts Max up again which gets him a tiny roar and Dan presses a kiss on his head. 

“I love you, even though you always get yourself in stupid shit”, he says, walking with him to his bedroom. “And don’t worry, Bagheera is not sleeping here.” 

He gently puts Max on the bed before he gets changed and under the covers, pulling Max a little closer. 

“You’re okay, little lion?”, he asks and Max starts purring, contentedly cuddling up against Dan’s chest, resting his head on his tiny paws. 

“Good Night, Maxy.” Dan smiles, pressing another soft kiss on his head and he switches off the light. Max’s purring is oddly calming and his breathing slowly evens out, eyes falling closed. 

He wakes up from a loud “I’M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER LECLERC!” which sounds suspiciously like his boyfriend and Dan groans, sleepily cracking one eye open. 

“You know, I liked you more when you were still a cute little lion cub”, he mumbles and Max glares at him. 

He’s completely naked and it’s been a while that Dan has seen him that pissed, a few small sparks actually coming from his hands - good to know that he has his magic back then. 

“Okay, before we plan our first murder of the day, what do you think about breakfast?” Dan raises his eyebrows, slowly getting up and walking towards Max, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“Missed you”, he mumbles and Max relaxes a little, tension leaving his body while he hugs him back. “Missed you too.” 

They smile at each other for a moment and Dan pulls him into a soft kiss, cupping his face in one hand. “You’re an idiot.” 

“It wasn’t my fault Leclerc is a fucking cheating bastard and a coward!” Max stares at him, anger back in his eyes and Dan sighs - it's too early for this, he needs coffee for that and he drags him along in the kitchen. “Whatever, you’re hungry?” 

“Yeah.” Max smiles but stops dead in his tracks when his eyes fall on Bagheera and the second the cat moves a little bit too fast, Max jumps into Dan’s arms, Dan catching him out of reflex. They stare at each other for a moment, Dan looking at him stunned while Max starts blushing. 

“Don’t say a fucking word”, he threatens him and Dan grins, pressing a kiss on his cheek. “I’d never dare to. My big scary lion.” He winks at him and Max hits his arm, still blushing while Dan can’t stop laughing. 

“I can’t believe you’re scared of _cats_ after you’ve been one yourself for over 12 hours.” 

“I hate you”, Max mumbles while cutting some fruit and Dan grins, getting the oats and yoghurt. “No, you don’t. I fed you.” 

Max just flips him off and Dan makes him some coffee before sitting down across from him with his own mug. “So what curse was it? And how did he manage to pull it off without you noticing?” 

“That bastard set up a rune in my apartment and I walked straight into it”, Max growls, blue eyes full with anger. “It was some True Nature curse bullshit.” 

“Means?” 

“I turn into my spirit animal.” Max blushes and Dan stares at him, actually speechless. “Your spirit animal is a _lion cub_?!” 

“Shut up”, Max mumbles, eating his muesli and Dan grins. “Never.” 

“I’m still gonna fucking murder Charles the second I see him again.” 

“It could get a bit hard to get rid of the body, babe. And I don’t know how you want to explain to Mattia that one of his two drivers disappeared. _On track_.” 

“You said you want to marry me so you’ll have to deal with that.” Max gives him a challenging look, taking a sip from his coffee before crossing his arms in front of his chest. “In good times as in bad times, right? You can practice already by helping me get rid of that fucking bastard.” 

“True.” Dan smiles, a soft look in his eyes and he takes Max’s hand. “I’d always help you hide the body, baby.” 

“Good to know.” Max grins and with a flick of his wrist, he refills Dan’s mug, squeezing his hand slightly. “Still, thanks for...you know.” 

“Always, little lion.” Dan winks at him, taking a sip from his now again full mug. 

They eat in peace for a while, talking about other things, Max laughing from time to time at something Dan said and just hearing his laugh again - god he missed that. Missed his boyfriend and as cute as Max was as a lion cub - he does prefer his human self. 

“So, payback for Charles: what did you have in mind?” Dan grins and a mischievous spark appears in Max’s eyes, lips curling into a grin. 

Max is one of the most gifted wizards Dan has met, so incredibly talented and full of magic and when Max starts talking, Dan can’t stop staring at him, a soft smile on his lips. 

My god, he’s so in love.

**Author's Note:**

> you can follow me on tumblr @ [verstappened](https://verstappened.tumblr.com/) 💛
> 
> Kudos and comments are very appreciated thanksss 💛


End file.
